Knitting machine



Sept. 19, 1933.

A. A. ADLER ET AL KNITTING MACHINE briginal Filed Aug. 1 1922 sSheets-Sheet 1 47 Q A TTORNEY? Sept. 19, 1933. A. A. ADLER ET ALKNITTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Aug. 1. 1922 Sept. 19,1933. A. A. ADLER ET AL KNITTING MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 1. 1922 3Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS a a, y

Patented Sept. 19, 1933 KNITTING MACHINE Alfred A. Adler, New York,N..Y., and Harry Albertman,

Philadelphia,

Pa., assignors to Jacquard Knitting Machine 00., Inc., a corporation ofNew York Application August 1, 1922, Serial No. 578,887

Renewed September 4, 1931 30 Claims.

Our invention relates to knitting machines for the production of figuredfabric and in some respects is an improvement on that new type ofknitting machines set forth in our co-pending application, Serial No.409,201, filed September 9, 1920, Patent No. 1,662,627.

The present invention permits the use of a single patternto control anentire machine, provides for the positive functioning of thestitchforming elements in the event of failure of the pattern controllerto act, thereby eliminating a source of waste of cloth and breakage ofneedles, eliminates the breakage of needles or needle lifting jacks inthe event of the failure of the parts of the pattern mechanism to movethe full distance contemplated for perfect operation, and

provides for a superior method of operation of the needles in machineshaving two needle banks cooperating in the samemanner as the dial andcylinder needles of the well-known circular machine, whereby a figuredcloth is produced that is thin and possesses other desirable features.These and various other objects of our invention will be apparent tothose skilled in this art;from the disclosure-of the preferred form ofthe invention shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is aplan view, partly in section, of a circular knitting machine embodyingour invention;

Figure 2 is a section thereof on the tion line II--II of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a section of a portion of Fig. 2 with the parts of themachine in a different position;

Figure 4 is an elevation of a detail of a needle lifting cam;

Figure 5 is a detail of the dial and dial needle of the machine in Fig.1;

Figure 6 is a section on the line VIVI of Fig. 5;

Figure 7 is a section of a circular machine embodying a modification; 1

Figures 8 and 9 are sectional details of the machine of Fig. '7, showingthe parts in ,difierent positions; and

Figure 10 illustrates a modified form of pattern controller andconnections therefrom to the knitting machine.

In the knitting machine shown in Figures 1 to 6, a bank of needles 11representative of stitchforming elements is laid in individual slots inthe outer surface of the stationary needle cylinder 12 for operation bycams located on the inner face of a cam cylinder 13 which is mounted asusual to turn in a circular trackway on the bed plate 14. A second bankof needles 15 is laid in radial slots in the stationary dial 1'7; theirhook broken secends alternate with the cylinder needles 11, and they areoperated by the cam or cams in the lower face of the dial cap 18 whichis rotated synchronously with the cam cylinder 13. The yarn guides orcarriers 19 move with the cam cylinder 13 and dial cap 18 and may bemounted on the outer edge of the latter in the usual manner. In general,these constructions are similar to those commonly found in circularknitting machines, the points in which they distinguish from formermachines appearing hereinafter. For clearness, the supports for the dialand the'yam guides have been omitted from the illustrations and likewisethe supports for the yarn cones and other mechanisms common in circularknitting machines, the application of which to the present machine willbe understood by those skilled in the art.

Four yarn carriers and sets of cams are shown in the drawings, but anynumber may be em- 7 ployed, as will be apparent. The cams on the innerface of the cylinder 13 include the usual stitch cams 22 and resting cam24, the first of which rides over the needle butts 23 to retract or pulldown the cylinder needles below the top 30 of the needle cylinder 12after they have been raised to take on yarn to form a new stitch; theresting cam 24 is recessed below each stitch cam to permit this completeretraction of the needles \while the trailing end-walls of its recessespro- 5 vide cam surfaces which immediately raise the needles slightly tothe rest positions in which 1 they are held until later raised stillfarther to take on further yarn. In the production of figured fabricsthisraising of the needles to take on yarn may be controlled solely by apattern mechanism later described. However, at times the usual needleraising cam will be found useful,

as later appears, and we have therefore retained the usual needleraising cams 25, one for each feed, but these are here made manuallyadjustable into and out of operating position, for example as shown inFig. 4. As there shown, the cam cylinder 13 is slotted axially at27'back of each raising cam 25 and the latter is provided with'arectangular lug 28 to ride in the slot; a bolt 29 bearing on the lowerend of the slot and threaded in the lug, provides for the elevation ofthe cam into operation or its depression into the wholly inoperativeposition of Figure 2. When held at their highest operating positionsthese raising cams as usual raise every needle to such a position thatthe preceding stitch or loop is dropped behind the open needle latch andhence produce knit cloth without figures and without the assistance oroperation of the pattern mechanism. For selectively raising the needlesunder the control of the pattern mechanism (the raising cams beingdepressed from this high position), other raising cams 5e are employedto act on the needles when individual interposable members 36, locatedaround and outside the needle bed 12, are interposed between these camsand the respective needles. Preferably each cylinder needle is providedwith a jack positioned in an extension of the needle slot so as toextend the needles in efiect, so that this pattern-controlledneedle-raising mechanism may be located out of the way of the cams 22,24 and 25 previously mentioned; jack lowering cams 31 on the camcylinder are used to act on the jack butts 32 to retract the jackssimultaneously with or just in advance of the retraction of the needlesby the cams 22 and thus relieve the needles and the needle butts of theadditional work of depressing the needle extensions. The usual resilientbands 33 hold both the needles and the jacks in these slots. in themachine illustrated, the interposable members 36 are interposed directlybetween the raising cams 54 and the jacks 30 and in such a constructionthe members 36 are preferably sliding levers laid in individual radialslots in the annular ring 37 which is attached to the frame of themachine by brackets 38 in such a position that the inner ends of thelevers lie in the path of the raising cams 54 and the cams 44 on theunderside of the horizontal flange of the cam cylinder 13 may engage thevertical butts 45 on the levers to slide the latter underneath the jackbutts 32. Pivot pins as extending through the slots 42 hold the leversin their slots in the supporting ring 37. An interposable member orlever 36 may be provided for every jack, and hence for every needle, butwe have found that sufficiently clear designs may be produced if thestitch-forming elements are operated in groups of a few adjacentelements, and especially if operated so that two adjacent stitches aredrawn alike as by operating the needles in pairs; in the present machinea single lever 36 is provided for each two adjacent jacks. One of thepositioning cams 44 is provided for each feed in the machine of Figs. 1to 6, that is to say, four in all, and each is placed angularly in therear of a jack retracting cam 31 so as to push in under the jack buttsany and all members 36 that may have been held out from under the buttsduring the passage of the preceding feed. In opposition to thepositioning cams 4%, individual springs 50 tend to pull the members 36out from under the jack butts 32 and thus remove them from theirinterposed positions; these springs are normally prevented from actingby individual spring pressed latches 51 located in recesses in thebottoms of the lever slots, each of which automatically engages ashoulder on its lever (Figs. 2 and 3) as the latter is pushed under itsjack butts by the earns 44 and thus holds the lever under these buttsunless pulled down into releasing position by the action of the patterncontroller. The raising cams 5%, one for each feed, are carried on asecond cam cylinder 55 that is turned synchronously with the main camcylinder 13 and these cams are respectively disposed in advance, an-

gularly, of the retracting cams 22 and 31 and in. substantially the sameangular positions as the usual raising earns 25. The cams 54 are capableof raising the inner ends of the levers 36 so high that when the leversare held underneath the jack butts by the latches 51, the correspondingneedles are raised at each pass of a cam 54 (as shown in Figure 3) to aposition in which the preceding loop slips behind the needle latch andthe needle takes on thread from the passing yarn guide. It follows fromthis construction that every pass of a yarn guide 19 in front of aneedle is preceded by a pass of a lever positioning cam 44 over thelever 36 corresponding to that needle, and the lever is then retained inits jack-andneedle raising position by its latch 5l so that thesucceeding raising cam 54 will raise the needle to form a new loopunless-the pattern controller acts to pull down the latch and permit thespring 50 to pull out the lever from under its jack butts before theraising cam reaches it; 'in this latter -case, that is to say when thelever 36 is released by the pattern control and retracted by its spring50, the pass of the lever raising cam 5 l= raises the lever but theretracted lever now passes the end of the butt 32 of its jack withoutengaging it and the corresponding needles remain down and do not take onyarn. The, succeeding positioning cam- 44 again returns all the releasedlevers 36 inwardly under the jack butts and thus returns all the leversto needle raising position. As to the whole bank of stitch-formingelements 11, the selection of the elements to be raised (or otherwiseactuated in a particular way) for a pass of any feed,,is timed withrespect to that feed pass, and to that end, in the present instance, therelation is intended to be progressive, that is to say, the retractionof called or selected levers is a continuous progressive operation withrespect to each yarn guide, being carried on simultaneously with theturning of the cam cylinder, so that the movement of the cams is notinterrupted by the action of the pattern mechanism; and the action andmanifestation of the control by the pattern mechanism is not interferedwith by the continuous movement of the cams; in progression orsuccession the called a, levers are retracted while they and theirneedles and the respective jacks as progressively left at rest betweeneach pass of a positioning cam 44 and the pass of the raising-cam 54immediately behind it. The-levers may be retracted literally seriatim,one at a time, or a number may be retracted together between each. twoof the cams 44 and 54; the number that may be retracted simultaneouslyobviously depends on. the spacing between the cams and the speed of thecam cylinder. In order to provide ample time for the retraction movementand also the simultaneous retraction of as many levers as possible, thecams 44 are located as close as practicable behind the lowering cams 3i,and hence as far ahead of the following raising cam 54 as possible.

It may be noted at this point that the function of the patterncontroller (regardless of its nature 'and location) is solely to releasethe stitch-' perfect flguring and possibly additional stitches in thefabric. No holes are produced in the fabric however by the failure ofcertain needles to rise; neither are uncast ofi stitches permitted topile up on any needle until the latter is bent or broken and. theoperation of the machine interrupted angle to the action on them, isthat this preventsv until repaired. This is an important feature of ourinvention and is independent of the nature and location of the patterncontroller and may be embodied in numerous ways. Another importantfeature of our invention involves the manner in which the interposablemembers 36 are moved into and out of acting position, that is to say,the manner in which we interpose the members which transmit to thestitch-forming elements the control, or the power which 'actuates-them.Preferably each of these members is moved on a line that is at an angleto the direction of the action of the force that it transmits, andpreferably at right angles thereto; this is illustrated in the machinedescribed where the levers 36 slide at right angles or radially to theneedle cylinder when being interposed or withdrawn, and where the lineof action of the raising cams 54 is parallel to the cylinder axis. Theadvantage of interposing and withdrawing these members by movements atan damage to the machine if the interposed member is left at any time inan intermediate position, that is to say, for example, if the member 36fails to move to either its extreme right hand or left hand position inFig. 2 but stops somewhere be-' tween these two positions and is struckby a raising cam 54 while in this intermediate position. By way ofcontrast, in those prior devices in which the needle jack'is theinterposable member and is shifted lengthwise in its slot into and outof the path of a raising cam on the cam cylinder, if a jack isaccidentally left with its butt in the path of the forward end of thecaminstead of well above or well below it, the end of the cam strikes thebutt and bends it against the face of the needle cylinder, and themachine must be stopped and repaired. Such an accident cannot occur whenthe interposable member in interposed by movement at a liberal angle tothe line of the needle-raising action on it as will be apparent, andthis feature is applicable to other stitchforming mechanisms than thatillustrated, and regardless of whether the interposable member isinterposed directly betweena raising cam and a needle jack, as shown, ornot, as will be obvious to those skilled.

The pattern controller preferred is located remote from the needle bed,and while there may be more than one for the machine, a singlecontroller will usually be sufiicient since a remotely locatedcontroller can control a relatively large number of stitching elements.By locating the controller or controllers away from the machine amplespace can be provided for the pattern 35 which, therefore, may be of anysize desired; also in this manner at least one side of the needle bedand the fabric may be left accessible to the operator although thecontrolled elements are distributed on all sides. of or all around theneedle bed. This will become apparent from the following description ofthe controllenand the controller connections illustrated. The movingpattern-controlling member-35 of the controller shown (which determinesthe operation of the lever latches 51) is a long sheet or belt of a thinflexible materiaLa heavy paperv for example, and is marked'in accordancewith the figures or design desired in the fabric by means ofperforations which are so placed in the sheet as to fall upon thelongitudinal grooves 58 in the surface of the pattern drum 59 as thelatter is turned. This drum is turned continuously (clockwise in Fig. 2)at a fixed rate with respect to the speed of. the cam cylinders 13 and55, and is provided with pins 60 to enter holes in the edges of thepattern sheet to draw and under loosely journalled rolls 62, anotherroll 63 running loose in one of the loops of the sheet so that itsweight maintains the sheet 3 under a little tension. A series ofselector bars or feelers 66, hung on pivots 65 extending through slots,rest with their feeler fingers 67in contact with the pattern sheet inthe paths of the pattern perforations and at their opposite ends areconnected byfilamentary connecting members, such as flexible connectionslike the cords or wires 68, extending around the machine, to therespective latches 51 of the jack levers as shown for. example in Figs.1 and 2. Each cord. or wire 68 is carried over such pulleys 69, 70, -71,72, or other supports, as may "be necessary. In-- dividual springs '74pull the feelers to the left (Fig. 2) and down lightly against thepattern sheet so that the latter may pass freely under neath the feelersuntil a perforation reaches one of the feelers when its finger'is pulledthrough the same and into that slot 58 in the drum which happens to-bebeneath that perforation. The continued turning of the drum 59 bringsthe rear wall of the drum slot against thefeeler finger or feelerfingers which have fallen into this slot and pushes such feeler orfeelers lengthwise underneath the ram 78 which is connected by a link79' to.a crank pin 80 that is geared to the drum 59, so that the ramdescends on the projected feelers to cause them to pull their cords 68and depress the attached latches 51, thereby permitting the respectivemembers 36 to be pulledback from under their jack butts as beforedescribed. The ram 78 passes the unprojected feelers 66 without strikingthem. The depression of the'cord end of the projected selector feelersalso withdraws the fingers from the slot and pattern perforation'as willbe apparent, and the ram holds them lifted momentarily while the patternsheet continues to move, so that when the ram '78 rises and the fingersare again pulled down'by the springs 74,

the fingers strike-against an unperforated portion of the sheet and thefeelers slide back to the rest position shown in Figure 2. Ashoulder maybe provided on the ram end of each feeler, as shown in Fig. 2, back ofwhich the ram engages, to keep the springs 74 from pulling thefeelers-from underneath the ram until the latter rises. This operationof depressing the feelers by the ram, releasing them again, andreturning them to their rest positions, is made to occur within the timethat the continuous turning of the drum brings the succeeding slot 58'ofthe drum, and possibly another perforation or row of,perforations, underthe row of selector fingers, and the pattern sheet is so'perforated andthe drum is driven at such a speed as to bring about directly thesuccessive progressive retraction of the selected levers 36 that. isrequired. That is to say, the pattern is so perforated as to select thefeelers progressively, acting on oneor a few at a time (the number fromwhich a selection is made at anyone time depending on the spacingbetween the positioning and raising cams 44 and 54 and corresponding tothe number of levers 36 that it is possible to release simultaneously),and furthermore the pattern is so timed and so driven with respect tothe cam cylinder that its selections are made at such times that theselected levers 36 are retracted intermediate the positioning andraising cams. The progressive retraction of the levers 36 that is neededto preserve the continuity of rotation of the cam cylinder is broughtabout therefore, directly by the progressive pulling of the cords 68,which is preferred for the sake of simplicity, and the latter is hereshown as brought about directly by the progressive selection from theplurality of feelers related to the single pattern, altho it may bebroughtr about in other ways. As before pointed out, the number oflevers 36 that may be retracted simultaneously, determines the maximumnumber of feelers from which the pattern 35 may make a simultaneousselection; obviously therefore, the greater the distance betweeneachpositioning cam 44 and its following raising cam 54, the shorter may bethe length of the pattern sheet 35 for a given figuring of the fabric.

The main cam cylinder 13 and the second cam cylinder 55 are turnedsynchronously in the fixed relation shown in the drawings by means ofthe gears 82 and 83 respectively which are driven from the main shaft 84and which at the same time drives the drum 59 at the desired speedproportionally to the speed of the cam cylinders, through the agency ofthe chain 85 and the intermediate gears 86 terminating in the shaft 87of the drum 59.

Each selector finger of a remote pattern controller may be connected toand hence control an individual stitch-forming element or pair ofadjacent elements; in the alternative, two or more such elements (orpairs of adjacent elements) in different parts of the bed but that arealways to be operated together, may be connected to the same selectorbar, thus reducing the number of selector bars, simplifying thepreparation of the pattern, etc. In the machine shown, the pattern is tobe repeated four times' around the machine, that is to say, the fourquarters of the tubular fabric are to be knitted with the same design,and hence each selector 66 is connected to four latches 51 spaced ninetydegrees apart. For example (Fig. 1), the cord from the latch at 51a istied at 90 to the cord from the latch at 515, and the latteris tied at91 to the cord from the latch at 510, while the cord from the latch 51dis carried completely around the pulley 72a and is also tied at 91 tothe cord from the latch at 51c; in a similar mannerthe cord from thelatch at 51a is tied to the cord from the latch at 51f and the latter,cord'and the cord from the latch 5171. are tied at 92 to the cordleading from the latch 519. The remaining needles are similarlyinterconnected in fours in regular order, the interconnections beingonly partly completed in the drawings in order to avoid confusion of thelines. Obviously, when any lever 36 of any set of four needles isreleased and retracted from needle operating position, the other levers36 of the same set are similarly released and the four quadrants areknitted with the same design.

Not less than four yarn. guides 19 are needed with this arrangement inorder to supply yarn to every needle every'time it is raised high enoughto drop its preceding loop back of its latch; otherwise loops would becast off prematurely and holes formed in the cloth.

Machines embodying the invention as thus described may be oeprated invarious ways; for example, and first assuming that the dial is omitted:If any considerable length of unfigured r fabric is to be formed ofsimple knit stitches,

either of a single solid color or striped by courses, the needle raisingcams 25 may be .used to advantage; for this purpose they are raised sohigh manually, by means of the bolts 29, that as the main cam cylinder13 is turned about the needle bank 11 these cams raise the needles to aknit stitch height; that is to say, as each thread guide passes anyneedle the latter is raised so high while taking on the thread of thepassing guide that the preceding loop is dropped back of the needlelatch so as to be cast off when the succeeding stitch cam 22 retractsthe needle again. Yarn is supplied by the yarn guides 19,

and in each rotation of the cam cylinder as many courses or rows ofstitches are added to the fabric as there are thread guides, four in themachine shown. If yarns of different colors are supplied to thedifferent guides the fabric is striped horizontally by courses or rows.The driving connections of the pattern drum 59 may be interrupted sothat the drum does not turn when the cams 25 are employed in thismanner, thus making it unnecessary to provide a length of pattern sheet35 corersponding to the unfigured portion of fabric. The levers 36 andlever raising cams 54 also perform no function during this operation andthe driving connections of the second cam cylinder 55 may also bediscontinued if desired and if a disconnecting means is provided. If thedriving connections of the second cam cylinder 55 are not interrupted,the same result may be accomplished by the jacks, levers 36 and leverraising cams 54 without the'assistance of the needle raising cams 25. Inthis mode of operation the cams 25 are depressed to the level of thering '24 and the driving connections of the pattern drum 59 areinterrupted to reduce the length of the pattern sheet as before or, inthe alternative, the pattern sheet 35 is left unperforated for acorresponding length. All the levers 36 are permanently held under thejack butts 32 by the inaction of the feelers 66, this inactionpermitting the latches 51 to retain their hold on the levers, andaccordingly all the needles are raised to knit at every pass of everyjack raising cam 54 and every needle casts off the previous loop andforms a stitch on the passage of every thread guide. Since in both ofthese operations the needles are raised at every pass of every yarnguide, both these modes of operation require that yarn be supplied byevery guide 19. The same result may however be accomplished with theassistance of the pattern sheet (without the aid of cams 25) when yarnis supplied to only a part of the thread guides 19. In this operationthe pattern sheet 35 is so perforated that all the latches 51 are pulleddown and correspondingly all the levers 36 retracted out of jackelevating position, in advance of such lever raising cams 54 ascorrespond to the unthreaded yarn guides 19; on the other hand, none ofthe latches 51 are actuated and none of the levers 36 retracted inadvance of the passage of the raising cams 54 corresponding to theyarmguides 19 that are supplying yarn. Accordingly every needle is madeto knit at every pass of yarn, but is held inoperative at the passes ofthe unthreaded guides in order that the loops may not be cast off asincomplete stitches and the continuity of the cloth interrupted.v Thislast method of producing unfigured cloth is particularly useful whereshorter lengths of unfigured cloth of a solid color (or striped by rows)are desired, such as intermediate figured portions of the same fabric,since this method requires only-the unthreading of certain of the threadguides, the proper perforations of the pattern sheet 35 being providedfor at the time the sheet is perforated for the figuring of the fabricwhich occurs before or after, or both before and after, the unfiguredportion. For the production of figuring in colors, yarns of thedifierent colors (or in the case of cross dyeing, yarns of differentmaterials or previously subjected to diiferent treatments) are placed insuccessive guides 19 and the needles are raised to take on the differentyarns as the desired figuring 'of the fabric may. require and as theoperation of the needles is.

directed by the pattern sheet 35; when a needle is not raised to.take onyarn from any one of the yarn passes, the yarn of that pass reachesstraight across behind the space occupied by that needle, and hence doesnot appear on the face of the fabric at that point. -Thus in the machineillustrated, each course or row of stitches may be made up in part ofstitches of one color and in part of stitches of the other color, theyarn of the first color floating or lying loosely behind the stitches ofthe second color and the second color lying loosely behind the stitchesof the first. White yarn for example may be supplied to twodiametrically opposite yarn guides 19 and red yarn supplied to the twointermediate guides. As the cam cylinder is turned and the white yarn ispassing any lot of adjacent needles, the pattern 35 being drawn underthe feelers 66presents perforations to such. of the feelers of theneedles of that lot as it is desired should skip the white yarn and knitthe red yarn carried in the following guide. Accordingly those needles(of the lot in question) which are to knit the red yarn in that courseare not raised when white yarn guide passes them but remain retractedand the white yarn reaches straight across the spaces occupied by them;all the other needles of the lot are raised however andso take on andform stitches from the whiteyarn from the passing guide because theirfeelers find no perforations in the pattern sheet and hence their leverlatches 51 hold the corresponding levers 36 in jack raising positionduring the time the corresponding cam 54 raises them. Immediately afterthe white guide passes each needle however, a positioning cam 44 followsit and replaces all the retracted levers under the jack butts again.When the next raising cam 54 (which corresponds to and-cooperates with ared yarn) approaches the same lot of needles the pattern mechanism'hasadvanced to exere cise further control of the same needles and now thefeelers which found no perforations while the-white yarn was passing andhence permitted the making of stitches of the white yarn, are presentedwith perforations inadvance of the passage of the red yarn guide andaccordingly their needles remain down as the red yarn passes them. Onthe other hand the needles that remained down and'made no stitchesduring the passage of the white yarn now haveno perforations presentedto their feelers and hence knit thered yarn. These two yarn guides, onewhite and the succeeding red yarn, thus lay a single complete course-orrow of stitches with each complete rotation of cam cylinder, someof thestitches being red and theothers white as required by the figuringdesired; obviously the red yarn might be laid before the white, and theoperation may be continuedthrough additional courses with such changesin the arrangement of the red and white stitches as the; design may callfor. .The second pair of thread guides lay another single coursesimultaneously with the first pair and in a similar anner and under thesimultaneous control of the pattern mechanism, and thus as many coursesof stitches are added to the fabric at each turn of the cam cylinder asthere are sets of colored yarns. Since each feeler controls four needles(or pairs of adjacent needles) and four sets of raising and stitchingcams are employed in the manner illustrated, the second set of yarnguides is needed not only to increase the rate at which the fabric isproduced but also to prevent the casting oil. of incomplete stitches andto preserve the continuity of the fabric as before indicated and as willbe apparent to those skilled in the art. It may be noted at this pointthat while the same design is' worked into all the quadrants of thetubular fabric by this operation, the coloring is reversed in some ofthe quadrants; that is to say, with the operation exactly as described,in two opposite quadrant-s of the fabric the figure may appear as red ona white background but in the other two quadrants the figuring willappear as white on a red background. This is due to the fact that asmany needles 11 (or rather pairs of adjacent needles) have been coupledtogether into a group by the cords 68 as there are yarn guides, the(pairs of) needles being tied and operating together in groups of foursand four yarn guides being employed. Accordingly every time any group offour needles is raised to take on yarn, two opposite needles take onwhite yarn and simultaneously the other two needles take on red yarn,with the result that opposite quadrants of the fabric are constructedexactly alike, but the other two quadrants are alike in design butreversed in coloring. The reversing of the coloring-among the quadrantsmay be varied, and other variations secured by other relativedistributions of the colors among the yarn guides 19. All quadrants maybe made alike by coupling together by the cords 68, into each group, asmany needles (or pairs of adjacent needles) as there are sets of colors,and-other arrangements may be devised to obtain other effects. Designsmay also be worked out in knit and tuck stitches with the assistance ofthe needle raising cams 25. For this purpose the cams 25 are manuallyraised sum-= ciently high above the ring 24 to raise all the needleshigh enough -to take on the thread of the passing guides, but not highenough to drop the preceding loops behind the needle latches.Accordingly, when the stitch cams 22 retract the needles that are raisedsolely by the cams 25,

each needle holds two loops in the manner well understood in theproduction of tuck stitches, but casts off none. By suitably perforatingthe pattern sheet 35 any lever 36 may be retracted at any time towithdraw its needle or needles from the action of the lower cams 54 andpermit the same to be lifted solely by one of the cams 25 and take onthis-double loop, all the other needles, the levers 36 for which are notretracted, making full knit stitches. These examples are representativeof the operation of the cylinder needles of the machine.

Referring now to the dial and the dial needles that may belaidalternately with the cylinder needles as usual: While fabrics may beformed by the cylinder needles alone, as appears above, omission of thedial from the machine illustrated permits the yarns to float looselybehind the fabric wherever they are required to pass needles withoutbeing knit into it; the addition of a dial to the cylinder interknits oranchors these threads where they would otherwise float, and thusprovides a more compact and serviceable fabric. The stitching of thedial is not necessarily controlled. bythe pattern mechanism and theordinary form of dial may be employed, in which all the needles areoperated by a single cam race which causes every needle to knit at allthe passes of all the yarn guides. Such a,dial, however, causes itsneedles to lay a course or row of stitches from every thread guide,whereas in the operation producing figures in colors above described,completion of a single course of stitches by the cylinder needles mayrequire as many passes of yarn guides as there are colors, as therepointed out. That is to say, if the above described method of two-color.figuring is followed when the usual type ofdial is employed,

the dial needles lay two courses of stitches forevery course laid by thecylinder needles. This non-uniformity may be taken care of by causingthe cylinder needles to draw longer stitches than the dial needles aswill be understood. However, the dial construction illustrated(particularly in Figs. 5 and 6), causes the dial needles 15 to lay asingle course for every course laid by the cylinder needles, thuspermitting the two banks of needles to draw stitchesof the same lengthand the production of a fabric of a uniform construction. As shown inFigs. 5 and 6, the dial needles 15 are divided into as many groups asthere are colors used in the figuring (two, white and red, having beenassumed) and the needles of different groups are distinguished by havingtheir butts at different distances from the center of the cam dial. Theneedles of the groups are intermixed and each group is provided with itsown cam race 90 and 91. Preferably the needles are long or short,depending on the distance of their butts from the dial center, and theneedle slots are only long enough to accommodate their respectiveneedles. This preserves strength in the walls forming the slots andpermits the use of a number of needle groups. The cam races-areidentical (except for such changes as are due to one being radiallynearer the center than the other) but the needle-raising-and-stitch-camportions of the races are so provided and so angularly displaced or setapart from each other that the different groups take on yarn fromdifferent yarn guides; when a long needle is being projected andretracted to knit a stitch from one of the thread guides the shorterneedles at the sides of the long needle are held inactive; conversely,when a short needle is knitting on some portion of the dial the longerneedles of the same portion of the dial are held inactive. Thus each ofthe races 90 and 91 is' arranged to project and retract its needlestwice, the twoprojecting and retracting portions of each race being 180apart and the four projecting and retracting portions being set 90apartas appears in Fig. 5. As a result of this construction each needlegroup knits from two of the yarn guides and it requires the pass of asmany yarn guides to complete a course of stitches by the dial needles asit requires passes of the yarn guides to complete a course of stitchesby the cylinder needles, and the dial lays one complete row of stitcheswhile the cylinder needles are laying one complete row.

Referring again to the pattern controller in the machine abovedescribed, it will be observed that the pattern mechanism is required tooperate once for each color. That is to say, in the case of thetwo-color figuring before described a portion of the pattern sheet 35must be brought under a feeler or selector bar 66 prior to the pass of awhite yarn over the corresponding needle, and then prior to the passageof the succeeding red yarn over the same needle another portion of thepattern sheet must be brought? under the same feeler. In effect, inorder to bring about the knitting of the desired yarn, there must be asmany set-ups of. each selector as there are colors. The length of thepattern sheet may be reduced by so arranging the construction that asingle set-up of each selector is sufficient to bring about the knittingof the desired yarn. Such a modification is illustrated in Figs. '7, 8and 9. A jackraising cam is employed for each of the colors as before,but the interposable levers and jack butts are so related that thelevers remain under the butts in.all positions of the levers and thecams and levers are so arranged that only one cam (of each set ofcolors) operates to raise the lever in any position of the latter. Figs.'7, 8 and 9 are adapted to two-color work. As-in Figs. 1 and'2, there isthe same needle cylinder 12 carrying the cylinder needles 11 with theirjacks 30, stitch cams 22, resting cam 24, jack retracting earns 31, fouryarn guides 19, and, it may be assumed, the pattern sheet 35 and feelerscontrolling the needles in groups of four as in the earlier figures. Thejack butts 100 are however longer than the jack butts of the precedingfigures as appears, so that the interposable levers 101 remainunderneath the butts 100 and hence in jack lifting position regardlessof whether the levers are in their innermost position or retracted. Thelevers 101 are provided with vertical butts 102' and like the levers 36of the preceding figures are pushed inward by the positioning cams 44and held or released for retraction by the cord controlled latches 51 asbefore. The forward ends of the levers 101 are provided with notches102, however, and the lower lifting cams 110 and 110a 'for each set ofcolors are carried by the second cam cylinder 55 at different distancesfrom the axis of the cylinder; for example, the lever lifting cam 110co-acting with the right hand yarn guide 19 in Fig. 6, is placed closeto the inside of the cam cylinder 55, whereas the lever raising cam 110awhich cooperates with the other yarn guide appearing in the figure, isdisplaced radially inward from the cam cylinder 55 (see Figs. 8 and 9)..As a result, any lever 101 retained in its innermost positionby itslatch 51 is acted upon by the cam 110, but is passed (without beinglifted) by the following cam 110a which passes through the notch 102(Fig. 8). On the other hand, when a perforation is presented to thefeeler of any needle and its lever 101 permitted to retract, cam 110passes through the notch 102.

in the lever without lifting it, but the following lifting cam 110aengages the forward end of the lever and lifts it and its needle (Fig.9) One positioning cam 44 is used for each set of colors, that is, asshown one cam is used to reset the levers 101 inwardly after the pass ofa white and a red yarn, but none is used to reset the levers after thepassage of the white yarn and before the passage of the succeeding redyarn. It will now be apparent that one space on the pattern sheet 35 isall that is needed to provide for 'the proper stitching of two yarns. Ifno perforation is presented to a feeler subsequent to the passage priorto the passage of the cam 110 under the same lever, the lever raisingcam 110 causes the corresponding needle to knit from the first threadguide, but the raising cam 110a of the succeeding thread guide passesthrough the notch 102 without raising the lever; in the alternative, ifa perforation is presented to the feeler, the cam 110a causes the needleto knit, but the cam 110 passes the lever without lifting it.

Figure 10 illustrates filamentary connections from the patterncontroller to the stitch-forming elements of an electrical type. In thiscase, the latches 51 which retain the jack-lifting levers 120, areprovided with iron armatures 121 held thereby over individualelectro-magnets 122. One side of the magnets is grounded and the otherside is connected to one of the feelers 125, which in this case arespring contacts resting on the insulating fabric 126 of the patternsheet which runs over a metallic drum 127. The drum is connected to oneside of the battery 128 and the opposite side of the latter is grounded.It will be apparent that when an unperforated portion of the sheet 126lies underneath a feeler 125, the circuit to the correspondingelectro-magnet 122 is interrupted and hence the corresponding jack lever120 is retained inwardly underneath the jack butt. On the other hand,when a perforation appears below one of the feelers 125, the feeler isallowed to come into contact with the metal drum 127 and complete acircuit to its electromagnet 122, thus drawing down'the correspondinglatch 51 and permitting its jack lever 120 to retract.

It will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments ofour invention herein described are merely representative of our invention and that the latter is not limited thereto.

We claim:

1. In a knitting machine, the combination of a circular bank ofstitch-forming elements, a yarn guide, a pattern-controlling elementhaving its pattern-calling agencies arranged in rows substantiallycrosswise of itself, a plurality of couplings subject to the same singlepattern-controlling element and connecting the same to' a plurality ofsaid stitch-forming elements, and means for actuating progressively,while stitches are being formed, those of said couplings which areselected fbr the control of said stitch-forming elements in. individualpasses of the yarn guide.

2. In a knitting machine for the production of figured fabric, thecombination of a bank of stitch-forming elements, and a patternmechanism including a' pattern member, a plurality of feelers, all ofwhich are simultaneously subject to the marking of the same patternmember and are connected to the stitch-forming elements to control theiroperation in accordance with said marking, and means for advancing thepattern, the said means advancing the said pattern member at such a rateduring the knitting of fabric and the markings of the pattern'being soarranged that such of the said feelers as are to be selected for theknitting of a single course of the fabric are selected progressivelyduring the knitting of that course.

3. In a knitting machine, the combination of a cylindrical bank ofneedles, a cam cylinder for continuous rotation about the needle bankprovided with a cam for raising the needles, and a pattern mechanismincluding a pattern member, a plurality of feelers, all of which aresimultaneously subject to the markings of the same pattern member andare connected to the needles to control their operation, and means foradvancing the said pattern member during the knitting whereby thepattern member advances, simultaneously with the rotation of the camcylinder, the markings of-the' pattern being so arranged that such ofthe said feelers as are to be selected for the knitting of a singlecourse are selected progressively in advance of the moving raising cam.

4. In a knitting machine, the combination of a cylindrical bank ofstitch-forming elements, a cam cylinder for continuous rotation aboutsaid bank and provided with a stitch cam for drawing the stitches, and apattern mechanism including a pattern member, a plurality of feelers allof which are simultaneously subject to the markings of the same patternmember and are connected to the stitch-forming elements to control theiroperation, and means for advancing the said pattern continually whilethe cam cylinder is rotating, the marking of the said pattern memberbeing such that the feelers to be selected thereby for the production ofthe desired fabric are selected progressively at suchtimes that theircontrol of the needles is effected on the needles progressively inadvance of the moving stitch cam.

5. In a knitting machine, the combination of a cylindrical bank ofneedles, a cam cylinder means for continuous rotation about the needlebed and provided with needle raising and stitch cams, and a patternmechanism including a patter member, a plurality of feelers allsimultaneously subject to the markings of the same pattern member andconnected to the needles to control their raising, and means foradvancing the said pattern member duringthe knitting whereby the patternmember advances during the rotation of the cam cylinder, the markings ofthe said pattern member being so arranged that such of its feelers asare to be selected forthe knitting of a single course are selectedprogressively intermediate the passage of a stitch cam and the passageof a raising cam following it.

6. In a knitting machine for the production of figured fabric, thecombination of a cylindrical bank of stitch-forming elements, camcylinder means rotating thereabout and provided with ac tuating cams forthe stitch-forming elements, a remotely located pattern member, aplurality of feelers subject to the marking of said member, means foradvancing the pattern member while the said cam cylinder means isrotating, connections subject to the feelers extending toward theneedles to control the operation thereof, means for operating saidconnections the marking of the pattern means being such that such of itsfeelers as are to be selected in the knitting of each course areselected by the pattern memberprogressively and at such times as toeffect their control on the stitch-forming elements intermediate thepassage of cams thereover.

7. In a knitting machine for the production of figured fabrics, thecombination of a cylindrical bank of stitch-forming elements, camcylinder means rotating thereabout and provided with cams for effectingthe actuation of the stitch forming elements, a pattern drum providedwith a plurality of recesses around its circumference, a pattern sheetpassing over the drum as the latter rotates and provided withperforations in accordance with the figuring desired, the perforationsbeing so located as to fall above the recesses in the drum, feelersengaging with the pattern sheet and arranged to fall through itsperforations into the drum recesses, a ram acting on such feelers as arediiferentiated from other feelers by the moconnection from each feelerto the bank of stitchforming elements through which the action of theram controls the operation of said elements, the drum being turned atsuch a rate and the pattern perforations being so arranged that thedifferentiation of feelers required for any course, occursprogressively.

8. The combination with a knitting machine including a circular bank ofstitch-forming elements, a yarn guide and means for actuating saidelements to cause the formation of stitches, of a pattern mechanismincluding a pattern-controlling element and means for operating thehereinafter mentioned filamentaryconnections in accordance with the callthereof by the pattern controlling element, said pattern mechanism beinglocated remote from the knitting machine, andfilamentary connectionsconnecting said pattern mechanism to the respective stitch-formingelements of the knitting machine'to control the actuation of thoseelements, a plurality of said filamentary connections being subject tothe call of the same single pattern-controlling element and saidconnection operating means operating progressively, while the knittingmachine is forming stitches, those of said plurality of filamentaryconnections which are selected for the control of stitch-formingelements in any single pass of the yarn'guide.

9. In a knitting machine, the combination of a stationary cylindricalbank of needles, cam cylinder means turning about the needle bank andprovided with a stitch cam and a needle-raising cam, a yarnguide turningabout the same axis, synchronously with the cam' cylinder means, tofurnish yarn to the needles actuated by said cams, levers mounted on astationary support and extending radially to the needle bank axis, saidlevers being slidable radially of the needle bank axis to and from aposition underneath respective needles and in the path of the raisingcam, whereby the passing raising cam engages the levers and therebyraises the respective needles, and a pattern mechanism controlling theinterposition of the levers between the respective needles and theraising cam, exercising its control on the levers successively inadvance of the raising cam.

10. In a circular knitting machine, the combination of a circular bedfor stitch-forming elements, a cam revolving about the axis of said bedto actuate the stitch-forming elements therein, levers pivoted outsidesaid bed and interposable into the path of said cam by movement in adirection at an angle to the path of the cam to complete operativeconnections between said cam and stitch-forming elements, means to somove the levers, and mechanism, including a pattern,

controlling progressively, while said camis repeatedlyrevolving aroundthe machine axis and during individual revolutions of the cam and inadvance of the earn, the placement of the levers inthe path of the cam.

11. In a circular knitting machine, the combination of a circular bedfor stitch-forming elements, a cam revolving about the axis of said bedto actuate the stitch-forming elements therein, levers pivoted outsidesaid bed and slidable substantially longitudinally in the path of thecam and in a direction substantially at right angles to theelement-actuating force of the cam which the levers transmit, to provideoperative connections between said camand said stitchrforming sively,while said cam is making repeated revolutions around the machine axisand during individual revolutions of the cam and in advance of the cam,the longitudinal placement of the levers with respect to the path of thecam.

12. In a knitting machine, a slotted bed, movable elements carried inslots of said bed and respectively including stitch-forming elements,cams to project and retract said elements, movable members carriedoutside said bed and normally interposed between said elements and oneof said cams so that said cam may actuate the respective elements, and apattern controller governing the release of said members from suchinterposition and thereby governing the action of said elements.

13. In a circular knitting machine, the combination of a circular bedfor stitch-forming elements, a cam revolving about the axis of said bedto actuate stitch-forming elements to substantially the limit of theirmovements in one direction, levers pivoted outside said bed andindividually related to stitch-forming elements in said bed andactuatable by said cam to actuate said stitch-forming elements, andmechanism, including a pattern, controlling progressively, while saidcam is making repeated revolutions in one direction around the machineaxis and during individual revolutions of the cam and in advance of thecam, the operative correlation between the respective levers and saidcam, whereby selective aetuation of said stitch-forming elements, underthe control of said pattern, is obtained.

14. In a circular knitting machine, the combination of a circular bedfor stitch-forming elements, a cam revolving about the axis of said bedto actuate stitch-forming elements to substantially the limit of theirmovements in one direction, levers pivoted outside said bed andindividually related to stitch-forming elements in said bed andactuatable by, said cam to actuate said stich-forming elements, aplurality of mechanisms, individually allocated to said levers re.-spectively for selectively relating said levers to said cam foractuation thereby, and a pattern mechanism actuating said mechanismsprogressively while said cam is making repeated complete revolutionsaround the machine axis in one direction and during individualrevolutions of the cam and in advance of the cam.

15. In a circular knitting machine, the combinationof a circular bed forstitch-forming elements, a cam revolving about the axis of said bed toactuate stitch-forming elements therein, a plurality of levers extendinggenerally away from said bed, and lying in the path of said cam foractuation by the latter in a direction around their fulcrums to-actuatesaid stitch-forming elements, and individually slidable substantiallylongitudinally of themselves into and out of position with respect tostitch-forming elements in said bed to actuate the latter under theforce exerted by said cam, and mechanism, including a pattern,controlling progressively, while said cam is making repeated revolutionsaroundthe machine axis in one direction and duringindividual'revolutions of the cam and in advance of the cam, thelongitudinal placement of the individual levers, whereby saidstitch-forming elements are actu-, ated selectively under the control ofsaid pattern.

16. The subject matter of claim 14, characterized by the fact that saidpattern mechanism includes a pattern and means additional to the patternfor actuating said plurality of mechanisms as called by the pattern.

17. The subject matter of claim 15 characterized by the fact that saidmechanism which includes the pattern also includes means additional tosaid pattern for causing the placement of the levers as called for bythe pattern.

18. In a knitting machine, the combination of a bank of needles, stitchand needle raising cams, a yarn guide moving with said cams to supplyyarn to the needles successively actuated thereby, members forinterposition between the needles and the raising cam through which, theraising cam acts to raise the respective needles, means moving with saidcams and in advance of the raising cam for moving all said members intointerposed positions, and a pattern controller acting to withdrawselected members progressively intermediate the passage of said meansand the passage of the raising cam.

19. In a knitting machine, the combination of a bank of needles, astitch cam and a 'camfor raising the needles, a yarn guide moving withsaid cams to supply yarn to the needles actuated thereby, levers forvarious needles, a lever positioning cam moving with and in advance ofthe needle raising cam to slide the levers to interpose the same betweenthe raising cam'and the needles so that the raising cam may raise theneedles, springs tending to retract the respective levers from theirinterposed positions, latches holding the levers interposed against thepull of said springs, and a pattern controller-for withdrawing selectedlatches to permit their respective levers to be retracted frominterposed position by their springs:

20. In a knitting machine forthe production of figured fabrics, thecombination of a stationary cylindrical bank of needles, cam cylindermeans turning about the same and provided with a stitch cam and a camfor raising the needles, a yarn guide turning with the cam cylinderabout the needle bank to supply yarn to the needles as the latter areactuated by said cams, a plurality of levers laid radially to the axisof the needle bank, a lever positioning cam also carried by the camcylinder means to slide the levers radially to interpose the same in.and to complete the connections between the raising cam and the needles,said lever positioning cam being located in ad- 'vance of thesaidlraising cam, springs tending to retract the respective levers fromtheir interposed positions, latchesholding the levers interposed againstthe pull of said springs, a pattern controller located remote from theneedle bank,

and filamentary connections extending from said controller to thelatches through which the pattern controller withdraws selectedlatchesprogressively and permits the successive withdrawal of the leversof selected needles intermediate the passage of the lever positioningcam and the passage of the raising cam.

21. In a knitting machine, the combination with a bank of stitch-forming.elements, projecting and retracting cams for said elements, members forinterposition in the connections between one of the cams'and saidelements, said members normally tending to assume the interposedpositions, and a pattern controller governing the withdrawal of theinterposed members from the connections. 1

22. In a knitting machine for the production of figured fabric, thecombination of a stationary cylindrical bank of needles, butts beingprovided for the needles, cam cylinder means turning about the needlebank and provided with a stitch cam and a needle raising cam, a yarnguide turning about the needle bank with the cam cylinder to supply yarnto the needles as the latter are actuated by the said cams, a pluralityof levers laid radially to theaxis of the needle bank, a lever.positioning cam also carried by the cam cylinder means and in advanceof the raising cam, said positioning cam sliding the levers to positionsunderneath butts of respective needles whereby the raising cam acting onthe levers so located may raise the respective needles, and patternmechanism to withdraw levers from underneath the said buttsprogressively and intermediate the passage of the lever positioning camand the raising cam, in accordance with the figuring desired.

23. In a knitting machine, the combination of a circular bank ofstitch-forming elements, revolving projecting and retracting cams forsaid elements, members for interposition between the elements and one ofsaid cams through which said cam actuates the respective stitch-formingelements, means moving with and in advance of said cam for moving allsaid members into interposed positions, and a pattern controller actingto withdraw selected members progressively intermediate the passage ofsaid means and the passage of the said one of the cams.

24. In a. knitting machine, the combination of a bank ofstitch-formingelements and a pattern mechanism acting on the stitch-forming elementsby groups of a small number of adjacent elements, the elements of eachgroup being always acted on as a unit and thereby acted on alike.

25. In a knitting machine for the production of figured fabric, thecombination of a bank of stitch-forming elements and a pattern mechanismacting on pairs of adjacent elements as units, so that the two elementsof each pair are always actuated alike.

26. In a knitting machine, the combination of a plurality of banks ofneedles, a plurality of yarn guides, and a pattern mechanism socontrolling the needles of one bank that yarn must be taken from all ofsaid plurality of yarn guides to complete the formation of 'a course ofthe stitches of said bank, cams being arranged to actuate the needles ofthe other bank in groups, the needles of which are intermixed and thenumber of groups corresponding to the number of said yarn whereby saidother bank of needles completes the formation of only a single course ofits stitches while the first bank is forming a course of stitches. 27.In a knitting machine for the production of figured fabric, thecombination of a cylinder bank of needles, a bank of dial needles, aplurality of yarn guides, and a pattern mechanism so controlling thecylinder needles that yarn must be taken thereby from all of saidplurality of yarn guides to complete the formation of one course ofcylinder needle stitches, the dial bank comprising as many groups ofneedles as there are of said yarn guides, the butts of each group beingat a different distance from the center of the dial and the needles ofthe groups being intermixed, and the dial having as many cams as thereare groups of needles, the cams being so angularly of banks of needles,a plurality of yarn guides 1 capable of supplying yarn for all theneedles, a pattern mechanism so controlling the knitting on the needlesof one of said banks that yarn is taken from each of said plurality ofyarn guides to complete the formation of individual courses of thestitches formed on the said bank, and means so controlling the knittingon the needles of the remainder of said needle banks that, in individualcourses, stitches of the yarn from one of said plurality of yarn guidesare formed on one group, less than the whole, of those needles, andstitches of the yarn from another of said plurality of yarn-guides areformed on another group of those needles, the needles being intermixed,whereby, in individual courses, the number of stitches formed on theneedles of said remainder of the needle banks is less than the number ofthe needles in said remainder of the needle banks multiplied by thenumber of said plurality of yarn guides.

29. In a circular knitting machine having two banks of sliding needles,a plurality of yarn guides, said needle banks and the yarn guides beingrevolvable, one with respect to the other, around the axis of themachine, a pattern mechanism so controlling the actuation of the needlesof one bank that individual rows of the stitches formed thereon areformed in part from yarn from each of said yarn guides, and means for sosliding the needles of the other needle bank, regularly selectively,that substantially the same number of rows of stitches are formed on thetwo needle banks and individual rows of the stitches formed on saidother bank are formed in part from yarn from each of said yarn guides!.

30. In a circular knitting machine, a circular bank of stitch-formingelements, a plurality of yarn guides, the needle bank and yarn guidesbeing revolvable, one with respect to the other, around the machineaxis, a stitch-formingelement-actuating cam related to each of said yarnguides, a plurality of levers individually related to the stitch-formingelements to actuate the same under the thrust of said cams, said leversbeing individually slidable longitudinally toand from positions whereinthey can be actuated by different ones of said cams, and a patternmechanism controlling the longitudinal placement of said levers withrespect to the cams, said pattern mechanism making one call on saidlevers in each revolution of the said group of cams.

ALFRED A. ADLER. HARRY ALBERTMAN.

llllll

